Monday, September 14, 2015

Arab unity is paramount

Dr.
Gargash stressed the UAE's commitment to providing all support to the Yemeni
people from humanitarian and relief assistance to resources for building state
institutions until security, stability and development take root in Yemen. He
referred to the month-long ''Yemen We care'' appeal launched by the Emirates
Red Crescent recently and which raised more than AED 500 million within few
days to help ten million Yemenis.

''The
constant initiatives launched by the leadership, government and people of the
UAE towards the Yemeni people underscore our firm belief that standing with
Yemen is not an option, rather it is an inevitable necessity and a key pillar
of the UAE foreign policy,'' the minister affirmed.

Dr.
Gargash highlighted the role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, led by the
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia,
in rallying the Arab coalition to confront the rebellion of the Houthi militias
and their allies against the security, safety and unity of Yemen. The Saudi
role reflected the strong belief in integration of the Arab security in this
important part of the Arab World and in the need to stand united against plots
of foreign intervention in Yemen and against attempts to incite sectarian wars
between people of one nation.

''The
bloods of our martyrs, who fell in defence of the right, justice and legitimacy
in Yemen, will not go in vain, rather they will further stiffen our resolve and
will within the Arab coalition to remove injustice, support the Yemeni people
and rescue Yemen from the clutches of the outlaw militias which committed
destruction and corruption in the country,'' he said.

Speaking
about Libya, the UAE minister said,'' We look with grave concern at the
escalating political crisis in Libya and the spread of extremism and terrorism
in Libya, a matter that requires us to maximise efforts to bring stability by
supporting the legitimate government in order to stand against the terrorist,
criminal groups which aim to deplete national resources, threaten sisterly Arab
countries and friendly African countries. They also target security and safety
of some European countries.'' ''We must all back the legitimate government and
contribute to building state institution, particularly the military which seeks
to build a strong national army that is capable of realising security and
stability and defeating the terrorist groups. We also express our support for
efforts being made by the UN special envoy for Libya, Bernardino Leon, to reach
a political solution to the Libyan crisis.

We
also call for swift implementation of the UN plan to spare the country the scenarios
of institutional vacuum.'' As for the Syrian crisis, the UAE minister said,''
We stress the importance of efforts aimed at achieving security and stability
in Syria in a manner that preserves the territorial integrity of Syria and its
national institutions and ends the crisis in a way that fulfills aspirations of
the Syrian people, who have been suffering for years from the scourge of war,
conflict and spread of sectarianism which forced the Syrians out of their
homeland.'' He added that terrorist organisations had exploited the vacuum
created by the deteriorating political and humanitarian situation and the
increasing number of refugees.

He
warned that these tragic conditions threaten security and stability of the Arab
region. However, he underlined the urgency of Arab joint coordination and
cooperation to crystalise a common vision for serious measures to rescue Syria
and safeguard regional security by reaching a political settlement based on
Geneva peace conference (1).

The
minister said that scenes of the Syrian refugees who were desperately seeking
for a safe shelter and decent life put the whole world before a real test.
There should be no option between a president killing his citizens or a brutal
terrorist, killer. ''An urgent Arab action is needed to get out of this dark
tunnel.'' ''The UAE, out of its established policy, has not been quick to
provide assistance to the Syrian people since the onset of the crisis in 2011.
The UAE has welcomed more than 100,000 Syrian nationals from all segments of
Syrian society and all religious sects and has extended residency permits to
them in the UAE. This has brought the number of Syrian resident in the UAE
close to 250,000., Dr. Gargash said, affirming that criticism levelled by some
circles in international political and media gathering about stances of Arab
countries towards the tragedy of the Syrian refugees were untrue.

The
UAE, he added, has been one of the leading providers of humanitarian aid and
development assistance to Syrian refugees in Syria and other parts of the
region. Overall, the UAE has provided over USD 500 million in humanitarian and
development aid since the beginning of the conflict. In 2015, the UAE pledged
an additional USD 100 million in support of Syrian refugees, 40 million of which
has been spent so far.

''The
UAE has contributed some USD 70 million over the past two years to various
refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, and Turkey. The UAE, together
with Germany, established the Syria Recovery Trust Fund (SRTF) in 2013 to
restore essential services in areas under control of the Syrian Interim
Government.

''The
UAE believes that there can be no long-term solution to the refugee problem,
without a sustainable political solution to the conflict in Syria, '' he added.
–End-